Liberal MP Stuart Robert resigns as audit probes links to consultant firm he secretly advised

Ending weeks of speculation, Stuart Robert has formally handed in his resignation triggering a by-election in the Gold Coast seat of Fadden.

Fadden MP and former Coalition cabinet minister Stuart Robert has denied any wrongdoing in relation to his connection to a consultant firm under inquiry over government contracts it secured. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Ending weeks of speculation, Stuart Robert has formally handed in his resignation triggering a by-election in the Gold Coast seat of Fadden.

House of Representatives Speaker Milton Dick received Mr Robert’s resignation letter on Thursday and a spokeswoman confirmed planning was underway to choose a date for a by-election.

“The Speaker is now considering possible dates for the by-election for the electoral division of Fadden, Queensland and will make an announcement in due course,” she said.

It is widely anticipated a vote will be held in July, with speculation mounting that former prime minister Scott Morrison will also resign from parliament allowing a by-election to be held in his NSW seat of Cook at the same time.

It comes as Mr Robert faces further scrutiny over his connection to a consulting firm that secured multimillion-dollar government contracts now they target of a fresh inquiry due to “serious concerns” about conflict of interest and value for money.

A trove of emails tabled by a powerful parliament audit committee on Wednesday confirmed Mr Robert used a private gmail account to advise his friend, Synergy 360 co-owner David Milo, as he sought help for clients chasing large contracts with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), Services Australia and other federal departments.

The redacted documents show Mr Robert, who announced his imminent retirement from his Gold Coast seat of Fadden this month, provided informal advice to Mr Milo regarding meetings and potential deals for his Synergy 360 clients between 2017 and 2018.

Mr Robert was on the government backbench at the time of the tabled correspondence and has denied any wrongdoing.

But the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) has announced the launch of a new inquiry into the dealings of Synergy 360 after an independent review in March identified 19 contracts worth a total of $374 million won by the consultant’s clients warranted further investigation due to conflict concerns, poor value for money and insufficient records.

Government Services Minister Bill Shorten says Liberal MP Stuart Robert still has time to answer questions about his connection to Synergy 360. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

Government Services Minister Bill Shorten told News Corp despite Mr Robert announcing his retirement from politics there were “real questions that remain unanswered” in relation to his contact and relationship with Synergy 360.

“Evidence presented to the JCPAA reveals Mr Robert used his position as an MP to provide insights to business associates and political fundraisers at Synergy 360 to the highest levels of government,” he said.

“Since then, Mr Robert has also refused to answer whether he ever sought to, or received, a financial benefit from Synergy 360, or whether there is still a potential benefit owing to him.”

Mr Shorten said while efforts to “get to the bottom of what has gone on” continued, Mr Robert still had “plenty of time to explain and fully document the specific issues that have been raised”.

“The constitution makes very clear that all members of parliament have a duty to serve the Australian people, not their own personal interests,” he said.

“It should be noted that Mr Robert absolutely insists there is nothing untoward in his actions.”

A spokesman for Stuart Robert says the MP rejects all allegations of wrongdoing. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

In a statement a spokesman for Mr Robert said the MP rejected “any imputation or allegation of improper conduct asserted by Mr Shorten”.

“From evidence provided to the Committee, it is clear Bill Shorten and the Committee Chair, Julian Hill, have used stolen and allegedly tampered with emails for political purposes and to assert improper conduct to which Mr Robert has strenuously and consistently rejected,” he said.

“This is something Bill Shorten and Julian Hill need to reflect on.”

Synergy 360 was also part-owned by John Margerison, a political fundraiser and friend of Mr Robert, at the time the Fadden MP was sending informal advice to Mr Milo.

In April, the JCPAA heard Mr Margerison had nominated a company called Australia Property Trusted (APUT) to receive funds from Synergy 360. But Mr Margerison said he had “never received any dividend or other payment” as a result of the consultant firm’s work to date.

The JCPAA tabled the 2017 email with the subject line “Shareholding discussion – Synergy 360” in which Mr Margerison said to his accountant “anything that comes in from this in the future I will end up sending up to APUT”.

Mr Robert declared his shareholding in APT on his register of members interest in May 2017.

Following this revelation Mr Shorten used parliamentary privilege this month to claim the evidence against Mr Robert was “crystal clear”.

“Money derived from Commonwealth contracts was being funnelled through to a member of parliament,” Mr Shorten told parliament.

According to redacted documents, Synergy 360 was paid a retainer by companies to lobby officials and a commission if a contract is successfully secured.

Labor MP and audit committee chair Julian Hill says the ‘serious concerns’ about contracts linked to Synergy 360 clients will be closely examined. Picture: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

JCPAA chair Julian Hill said revelations from initial public hearings raised “serious concerns” regarding use of taxpayer funds in the NDIA and Services Australia under the previous government, as well as the “conduct of parties associated with these procurements”.

“The committee concluded that these issues warrant examination in a fresh inquiry to properly explore the serious issues,” he said.

“In the interests of transparency, the committee has also released a trove of emails referred to in public hearings that fuelled the media reports that led to the Watt Review.”

That review, lead by a former head of the public service Ian Watt, warned of the risk of wasting taxpayer funds using “single source” tenders that prevented open competition.

Among the contracts of concern is understood to be five-year deal between April 2020 and June 2025 valued at about $76.12 million with the NDIA for SFDC Australia Pty Ltd (Salesforce) to provide Customer Relationship Management software.

The initially small project was continually revised upwards.

Mr Hill said “massive variations” to the value of lucrative government contracts was “rampant and growing under the Liberals, with no competition and inadequate scrutiny”.

“The Audit Committee will leave no stone unturned in finding out what has gone on with these contracts,” he said.

“It is essential that we get to the bottom of this mess because taxpayers rightly expect value for money, and probity and integrity restored to government procurement.”